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Kōrero: Reedy, Materoa

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Reedy, Materoa

1881–1944

Nō Ngāti Porou; he wahine whai mana

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Pakariki Harrison, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1998. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

E ai ki te kōrero a te whānau, nō te 8 o Ākuhata o te tau 1881 i whānau ai a Materoa Ngārimu i Maraeke, i Whareponga i Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko te mātāmua ia o ngā tamariki tokorua a Mākere Rāiri rāua ko Tuta Ngārimu, he tangata pāmu hipi nei tāna mahi. Nō ngā kāwai matua o ngā hapū rangatira o Ngāti Porou a Materoa, arā, o Te Aitanga-a-Mate, o Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa, o Te Aowera, o Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare, o Te Whānau-a-Māhaki, o Te Whānau-a-Iritekura me Ngāti Rangi.

Atu i 1888 ki 1897 i kuraina a Materoa i ngā kura Māori o Akuaku, o Hiruhārama me Tūpāroa. Mutu ake ana i konei, tonoa ana ia ki Hukarere (Hukarere Native Girls' School), i Ahuriri (Napier), ā, atu i 1898 ki 1900 tana roa ki reira. I te tau 1899, kātahi te wahine ātaahua, pūmanawa hoki ko Materoa. Hoi anō i te whakaipoipotanga a Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck) ki a Materoa – meake nei a Te Rangi Hīroa hai kaihautū mō te iwi Māori – kāore i tutuki. I pērā ai, nā te mea kua oti kē rā a Materoa e ōna pakeke te taumau ki te tāhae rā, ki a John (Hōne) Marshall Reedy o Ngāti Porou. Otirā, nō te 19 o Mei 1903 rāua i mārena ai i Whareponga; tokoiwa nei ā rāua tamariki. Ahakoa e rima tau te tamariki ake o Hōne i tana hoa i a Materoa, he kaitiaki toa tana mahi, ā, kua tupu kē tōna rongo hai pukumahi, hai tangata mōhio hoki ki te tiaki kararehe, mahi pāmu atu hoki. Noho ana rāua hei tokorua momoho, ā, whai mana ana rāua.

I te taha raki o te awa o Mata a Materoa rāua ko Hōne e pāmu hipi, e pāmu kau ana. I tīmataria anō e rāua he mahi miraka kau, ā, e 200 ngā kau Jersey – he momo kararehe tino pai mō te mahi miraka – e mirakatia ana e rāua. He whare pahī hēpara anō tō te pāmu, ā, e ono hoki ngā tūnga kuti hipi o te wūruheti. He uru hua rākau rahi anō tō rāua, ā, e 60 eka te rahi o te whenua whakatipu ōti, whakatipu pāri, hai pāpapa whāngai i ngā hōiho. Ia tau, ia tau, tata atu ki te 600 te nui o ngā tia Angus e whakawhiti ana i te awa, ā, ko te roa kē e āia haeretia atu ana mā te huarahi, kātahi anō ka tae atu ki te whare patu mīti i te kokoru o Tokomaru. Nō te wā kāinga tonu ā rāua kaimahi hei whakatikatika i ngā taiapa, hei tope i ngā taekai, hei parau hoki i ngā whenua i ngā taha e rua o te awa.

He mea hanga e Materoa rāua ko Hōne he kāinga ātaahua nei mō rāua, ko Waitangirua te īngoa. He rahi tonu te whenua o te kāinga, ā, he papa purei tēnehi anō i reira. Āpiti atu ki tēnā, he hāwini ruarua nei wā rāua tae atu ki te kaimahi kāri, me te kaitaraiwa waka hoki, e mau kākahu rite ana. Ko tēnā anō te momo noho o ngā tokorua nei, torotoro mai ana te tangata i ngā mutunga wiki, hui noa mai rānei ki tō rāua kāinga whakangahau ai. I te taha tonga atu o te awa o Mata he wāhi rērehi hōiho anō tō rāua, me tōna ake papa rērehi, tēpara rērehi, ā, me tētahi kaitereina hōiho, ko B. J. Clements te īngoa. Hoi anō, puta ake ana i reira te hōiho rongonui rā a Pakanui, he hōiho i mīharotia nei e Ngāti Porou, ka mutu mai te pai o te hōiho i puta mai i ngā tēpara nei. I mua i te mate wawetanga o Pakanui, e waru nei ngā rēhi nui i wini i a ia.

Kai te tamariki tonu a Materoa kua noho kē ia hai kaihautū. Nā runga i ōna kāwai i taea e ia te tū ake mō te katoa o tōna iwi, ahakoa te tikanga he tāne kē ki tēnei tūranga. I ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau atu i 1900 ka riro i a ia te mahi a Tuta Nihoniho ki te tuku atu – ngātahi ko te Kōti Whenua Māori – i ngā whenua hapū o Te Aitanga-a-Mate ki ngā whānau maha. Toru tekau mano eka, nuku atu rānei, te rahi o te whenua nei kai waenganui i a Hikurangi me Whareponga e takoto ana. I te tohunga ōna ki te whai kōrero me tōna mōhio hoki ki ngā tāhuhu kōrero me ngā tikanga, ka noho tonu ia hai wahine pātaka, whakamataku ana tana mōhio ki ngā kōrero a tōna iwi. Inarā te kōrero, kātahi mai te mea nui ki te tangata ko te whakarongo noa ki a Materoa e kōrero ana i te marae; kāore ōna painga i mutu mai i te hunga kore mōhio anake, otirā he mea tohutohu anō hoki e ia te hunga matatau.

I tautokona tonutia e Apirana Ngata te mana o Materoa, ā, whakamahia ana e ia ōna mōhio me ōna kaha, tīmata mai i roto i tōna iwi, ka nuku atu ki waho. He manawa popore, he wahine manaaki a Materoa, noho ake tāna he pōwhiri, he whakangahau, he poroporoaki atu hoki i ngā manuhiri nui e taetae ake ana ki Ngāti Porou. He tau kē nei a Materoa ki ngā mahi tōrangapū, mahi tikanga ā-iwi a Apirana. Haere ngātahi tonu ai rātau ko ngā pakeke me ngā rangatira i ngā haerenga o Apirana. Mōhio whānui katoa ana te motu ki a Materoa. Ka tū nei te hui whakahirahira ki Waitangi i te tau 1934, whakamahia ana e Ngata me ētahi atu kia tū a Materoa ki te kōrero. He hui whakanui tēnei i te koha mai a Rōre Bledisloe ki te motu, o te papa whenua hai wāhi whakatū i te Whare Tiriti me te whakatakoto atu hoki i te papa kōhatu mō te whare nui i taua whenua anō. I te whaikōrero a Materoa, tono ana ia i te Kāwana Tianara kia āwhinatia te Māori ki te puri i āna tikanga me āna mahi. Mihia ana a ia e te Kāwana mō te mātau o ōna whakaaro. Kāti, ko tētahi mahi anō i te hui ko te whakataetaetanga a ngā iwi whakaeke mō te Kapu a Materoa Ngārimu.

He wahine kaiwaiata, tito waiata atu hoki a Materoa, ā, e hia kē nei hoki wana whakaatu kōrero, kōrero whakamārama e mau ake nei i te kohinga waiata a Ngata e huaina nei ko Ngā mōteatea. Nō te tau 1931 i mauria ake e Materoa he kapa waiata nei ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), ā, e 40 ā rātau waiata mā Apirana i hopukina e te mīhini hopu reo. He wahine tohunga anō hoki a Materoa ki te raranga whāriki, tae atu ki te mahi korowai.

He wahine pūmau tonu hoki a Materoa ki te Hāhi Mihinare me te Rōpū Unaititi (United Party). I te wā o te Pakanga Tuatahi ko ia tētahi o ngā kaihautū o te Rōpū Māori o Te Tai Rāwhiti Āwhina i ngā Take o te Whawhai (Eastern Māori Patriotic Association), e mahi ake ana ki te kohikohi moni hai tahua whakamau oranga mō ngā hōia Māori. Mō āna nei mahi whakawhiwhia ana a Materoa e te Piriniha o Wēra ki tētahi mētara i te tau 1921. Puta ake anō hoki te mea pakeke o ngā tama a Materoa, arā, a Hānara (Arnold) Te Ōhākī Reedy hai rangatira mō tōna iwi. I te pakanga i tāwāhi, he kāpene nei te tūnga o Hānara i roto i te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion), tae noa ki te wā i mau nei ia i te hoariri i Kariti. Mō te taha ki te irāmutu a Materoa, ki a Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu, whakawhiwhia murimatetia ana tēnei ki te Rīpeka Wikitōria (Victoria Cross). Tū ana te hui whakanui i tana tohu i Ruatōria i te 6 o Oketopa 1943. Tata atu ana ki te 7,000 ngā tāngata i tae ake, ā, riro ana nā Materoa te whaikōrero nui o te hui. I taua wā tonu e pāngia ana a Mākere, te kōkā o Materoa, e te mate, ā, i te rangi i muri mai, mutu atu ana te whāwhā a Mākere i te mētera, ko tana wehenga atu tēnā ki te pō.

Nō te 5 o Hune o te tau 1944 i hinga ai a Materoa i te hōhipera i Whanganui, arā, nō te aituā motokā e pātata ana ki Parikino i mate ai. Kua mate kē tana tāne i te tau 1937. Mahue mai ana i a ia āna tamariki, tokorima ngā mea tāne, tokotoru ngā tamāhine. Hangaia tonutia ana e te iwi o Whanganui he kōwhatu whakamaharatanga ki a ia i te wāhi i aituā, ā, ko 'Te takanga a Materoa' noa ngā kupu kai runga i taua kōwhatu. Riro ana nā te rangatira nei, nā Ariki (Alex) Takarangi me tētahi ope nui tonu o tōna iwi o Whanganui i taupae te whakahokinga atu o te tūpāpaku ki Te Tai Rāwhiti. I tana tangihanga taetae ake ana ngā tāngata o ngā iwi huri noa i te motu ki te mihi ki a ia. Kia āhei ai tana tama, a Hānara, kāore nei i taea te hoki mai i tāwāhi, ki te tangi ki tana kōkā, i taupua noatia te tāpuke o te tūpāpaku. Mahue mai ana tōna mana me ōna mōhio ki tana tama, ki a Hānara me ērā atu anō o āna tamariki, ā, tohunga ana rātau ki ngā waiata, ki ngā whakapapa me ngā kōrero tuku iho a tō rātau iwi.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Pakariki Harrison. 'Reedy, Materoa', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4r10/reedy-materoa (accessed 29 March 2024)